Ink panel: Hunting the sun and surveying the sky from the bow.

Chapter 7 Go up the mountain again

Most of the people in Hongshan Village are hunters, who make a living by hunting.

There are many poisonous snakes and ferocious beasts in the mountains, and almost every year someone in the village dies from hunting.

Death is too common for Hongshan Village.

By the next day, no one in Hongshan Village was talking about the killing of Tianchuan.

Everything returned to calm.

It was as if this person had never existed in this village.

Shen Qing woke up early in the morning with dark circles under his eyes.

He walked out of the house, reached out to catch the falling snowflakes, then grabbed a handful from the ground and pressed them tightly against his face.

The bone-chilling cold was like countless needles piercing his skin, causing him to shiver instantly.

The chill seemed to pierce through his bones, but it also made his chaotic thoughts clear. An inexplicable sense of refreshment surged into his heart, and he felt clearer than ever before.

"Brother, the hot porridge is ready, come and have a sip."

"Here it comes." Shen Qing let out a breath.

Shen Qing took the bowl of steaming meat porridge from Shen Fang's hand, blew on it gently, and took a sip carefully.

The warm porridge water slides into the throat with the meat particles, bringing waves of warmth.

The warmth spread from his mouth to his whole body, as if dispelling the coldness that enveloped him in the winter.

In addition, after drinking a lot of chicken soup yesterday, Shen Qing's stomach and intestines were also nourished, and he became much more energetic.

"Brother, why do I feel like you've grown a lot taller?"

When Shen Qing stood up, Shen Fang felt that he seemed to have become stronger, and she didn't know if it was an illusion.

"Maybe I always liked to bend over."

Shen Qing withdrew his sight from the ink writing, put the bowl aside, picked up the bow and quiver and hung them on his body.

"I'm going up the mountain, and I probably won't be back by noon. Go stay at your aunt's house. Remember to bring bran cakes with you, and don't make it difficult for your aunt and the others."

Shen Qing was packing up while giving instructions.

"I see."

Shen Fang lowered her head in surprise, then turned around to clean up the dishes and said no more.

At that moment just now, she suddenly felt that Shen Qing was the brother and she was the sister.

Obviously, I am two years older than him.

Shen Qing didn't pay too much attention to Shen Fang's little thoughts. He pushed the door open despite the wind, snow and cold weather.

After a moment, he walked to the place where he had hit the bark yesterday and looked around.

"The place we went to yesterday was too crowded with people. I'm afraid we won't get anything if we go there again today. So based on what I thought yesterday, we'll go to the forest where the deer appeared today."

Generally speaking, deer don’t tend to stay in the same spot for long.

Their instincts in the wild drive them to constantly migrate and seek new food sources to avoid resource depletion and threats from natural enemies.

If I go there again today, there is a high probability that I will not encounter the deer I saw that day.

But the presence of deer in that forest proves that the area has lichens, mosses and unfrozen water, which must also attract other animals.

Shen Qing identified the direction, scratched the bark again, marked it, and walked straight into the mountains.

A series of deep footprints were left on the snow behind him, and Shen Qing's figure gradually disappeared in the wind and snow.

Chen Family Courtyard.

Chen Tai and Chen An, both wearing animal skins and carrying longbows and daggers, walked out of their homes, feeling the cold air in their faces.

Although the heavy snow outside has become much lighter, it has not stopped yet and is still falling sparsely.

Looking around, the Shicheng Mountain was covered in white. Chen An tightened his coat and complained to Chen Tai beside him: "It's snowing for so long, why do we have to go up the mountain? Isn't it better to exercise at home?"

Chen Tai smiled and replied, "The prey is fatter in winter, and big brother has good intentions. Don't say too much, we will go early and come back early."

Although Chen An complained, he still took a step forward and followed his second brother's pace.

The two walked side by side, passing through the quiet village and heading towards the back mountain.

Soon, the brothers Chen An and Chen Tai walked through the deep snow and arrived at the edge of the woods where Shen Qing was picking tree bark.

Chen Tai stopped, looked at the bark that Shen Qing had hit, and said, "There are already people in here, let's go to another place."

"It's a good thing that someone is here. It means there's something inside, so we don't have to search aimlessly."

Chen An didn't care who hit the tree bark and walked straight into the hunting ground.

"It's not a good idea for us to go in like this, right?" Chen Tai said hesitantly, with worry showing between his brows.

Chen An turned his head and said, "Brother, hunters' rules are dead, but people are alive. Look at the footprints on the snow. There is only one person at most. What are you afraid of? He fights his fight, and we fight ours. This mountain does not belong to him alone."

As he spoke, he reached out and tightly grasped Chen Tai's wrist: "We're just going in to hunt, second brother, there's no need to be so pedantic. No one can do anything to us."

Chen Tai glanced at the silent and deserted woods and felt that Chen An's words made sense. He finally nodded and said, "Okay, but be careful."

Upon hearing this, Chen An showed a smug smile on his face.

He pulled Chen Tai, and the two of them, one in front and one behind, followed Shen Qing into the forest.

……

puff!

An arrow shot from a distance and nailed the hare to the ground.

Blood slowly oozed out from the wound where the arrow had pierced, staining the surrounding snow red.

The hare's eyes were filled with fear, and it twisted its body in pain, trying to break free from the restraints.

Every struggle is accompanied by severe pain, but the instinct for survival drives it to continue struggling.

Shen Qing, who was hiding not far away, walked over quickly, grabbed the hare's long ears, and lifted it up with the arrow.

With a look of joy in his eyes, he quickly and skillfully took out the dagger from his waist and cut the rabbit's carotid artery with one stroke.

Blood spurted out, staining his cuffs red.

The rabbit twitched a few times and then became completely motionless.

Shen Qing picked up the dead rabbit, tied it up skillfully with a rope, and then hung it around his waist.

He patted the prey at his waist gently, a hint of satisfaction flashing in his eyes.

"This is the third one. It really is worth coming here today. It's a pity that I didn't encounter a big one."

Shen Qing placed the dagger on his elbow joint, wiped off the blood, and put it back to his waist.

At this time, he slowly squatted down, his eyes fixed on a group of footprints on the snow.

These footprints were clear and deep, obviously they were left not long ago.

He reached out his hand and lightly touched the edge of one of the footprints with his fingertips, feeling the delicate outline.

He was sure it was the footprint of a deer-like creature.

A gleam of light flashed in Shen Qing's eyes, and he was secretly delighted in his heart.

I didn’t expect that as soon as I mentioned the devil, he would appear. I actually encountered some big stuff.

By following these footprints, perhaps we can find the prey. We must not let it escape this time.

Suddenly, Shen Qing felt touched.

His consciousness moved, and a ball of ink spread out in his sight. A familiar interface appeared in front of him, and his expression became surprised.

(End of this chapter)